Eye on Iran: Trump Says of Iran Deal, 'You're Going to See What I Do'

TOP STORIES Trump Says of Iran Deal, 'You're Going to See What I Do' | Bloomberg President Donald Trump offered new hints he's likely to quit the international agreement to curb Iran's nuclear program next month, potentially scrapping a deal struck by his predecessor that he opposed before taking office and has criticized often since. Iranian Charged in Sanctions Case as U.S. Steps Up Crackdown | Bloomberg An Iranian businessman faces U.S. charges of evading economic sanctions on Iran by moving $115 million from Venezuela through the U.S., signifying that prosecutors are intensifying a crackdown on illicit attempts to transfer money through the American financial system. Germany at Odds with US on Condemning Hezbollah in Iran Talks | Fox News Germany's government has refused to agree to a key U.S. demand to designate the entire Lebanese Islamic militia Hezbollah -- and not just a piece of it -- a terrorist organization as part of talks to rein in the nuclear program in Iran.  UANI IN THE NEWS Bolton on Trump's Iran Deal Meeting: 'Putting Lipstick on a Pig' Won't Make a Difference | Fox News Former U.N. Ambassador [and UANI Advisory Board Member] John Bolton said Tuesday that he doesn't see any type of legitimate fix to the Iran nuclear deal as a result of Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's meeting with President Donald Trump. NUCLEAR DEAL Tillerson Firing Places Iran Deal in Jeopardy | J. Dana Stuster for Lawfare ...One of the subjects likely on the agenda during MBS' visit to Washington this week will be the fate of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which the Gulf states have quietly opposed. President Donald Trump's firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson this past week and selection of CIA Director Mike Pompeo, a noted Iran hawk, make U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal more likely, Negotiators Think It's a Long Shot to Satisfy Trump on Iran Deal | Barak Ravid for Axios In their meeting last Thursday in Berlin, U.S. and European diplomats tabled drafts for an agreement which will not nix the Iran nuclear deal or renegotiate it but still substantively turn on the pressure on the Iranian regime. A senior European diplomat who participated in the talks told me that the gaps between the U.S. and the three European powers are actually closing. But, but, but: The French, Germans and the Brits think the chances of finding a formula which will satisfy Trump are very slim. Merkel Warned Netanyahu Collapse of Iran Deal Could Lead To War | Barak Ravid for Axios German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a decision by President Trump to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal might lead to the collapse of the agreement and, as a result, could lead to a regional war. NUCLEAR & BALLISTIC-MISSILE PROGRAMS Iran's Nuclear Program | Jonathan Tirone for Bloomberg Iran's nuclear capabilities have been the subject of global hand-wringing for more than two decades. CONGRESS & IRAN Iran Looms Large as Congress Casts Yemen War Vote | Al Monitor Congress held a heated debate on how to confront Iran in the Donald Trump era today as the Senate held its first debate and vote on US participation in the Saudi-led intervention against the Houthis in Yemen.  U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS Trump Hints He May Break with His Generals on Iran | Voice of America U.S. President Donald Trump appears increasingly willing to defy some of his top generals, as his administration grapples with how best to deal with Iran. Iranians are Part of American Life. Get Used to It. | Jason Rezian for The Washington Post Iranians in America seem to be coming full circle as they prepare to complete another trip around the sun. At the start of spring, Iranians the world over celebrate a new year, known as Nowruz... But this time around, there's little to celebrate, as the Trump administration's antagonistic attitude toward all things Iranian seems set to harden. With Trump Ready to Confront Iran, Is Death Knell Sounding for The Regime? | Tony Duheaume for Al Arabiya (Saudi Arabia / UAE) With the removal of Rex Tillerson by Donald Trump from his post as Secretary of State, it could well prove to be the end of the line for the Iran deal. ECONOMIC NEWS China's Sinomach to Build $845 Million Railway in Western Iran | Reuters China National Machinery Industry Corp [CNMAC.UL], known as Sinomach, has signed a contract to build a 5.35 billion yuan ($845 million) railway in western Iran, adding to a wave of Chinese investment in the country.  Crude Prices Higher as Saudi Prince Visits U.S. | The Wall Street Journal Oil prices climbed more than 2% to three-week highs Tuesday as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Washington raised the prospect of a more aggressive stance toward Iran.  IRANIAN REGIONAL AGGRESSION Iranian leader Says Tehran has Defused Regional Threats | Reuters Iran has defused all regional threats against the country, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday, as tension rises between Tehran and Washington over the influence of the Islamic Republic in the Middle East. In an Iranian New Year message, Khamenei did not specify any particular threat. But he appeared to be mainly referring to the Islamic State militant group, which Iranian forces have confronted in Syria and Iraq as well as at home. HEZBOLLAH & LEBANON In Search of Nuance in the Debate over Hezbollah's Criminal Enterprise and the U.S. Response | Matthew Levitt for Lawfare Did the Obama administration torpedo investigations into Hezbollah criminal activities in its zeal to secure the Iran deal? A recent Politico report concluded it did, but the story is more complicated than that.  It is as wrong to accuse the Obama administration of "letting Hezbollah off the hook" as it is to assert that protecting the Iran nuclear deal had no impact on decisions to target Hezbollah's criminal behavior. In fact, the real story here is not about Hezbollah or the Iran Deal so much as bureaucratic turf battles and competing intelligence assessments. OTHER TERRORISM & EXTREMISM Hamas Official Says Relations with Tehran Improved to Pre-Syrian Crisis Level | Ahmad Majidyar for the Middle East Institute A senior member of the Palestinian Hamas has said the militant group and Tehran have recently managed to repair their relations which were strained as a result of the two sides' differences over the Syrian conflict previously.  IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS Ahmadinejad accuses Iran's Khamenei of stealing $190 bln | Al Arabiya (Saudi Arabia / UAE) In an uncommon escalation of the brewing power struggle within the different wings in Iran, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad disclosed the size of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei's fortune estimated at $800 billion toman, the equivalent of about $190 bln, accusing him of stealing people' money and advancing oppression to silence critics. Ahmadinejad Reveals Quds Force Secrets After Aide Sent To Jail | Ali Alfoneh for he Middle East Institute Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's relations with the regime have reached a new low since the Judiciary imprisoned his associates Hamid Baqaei and Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei on embezzlement charges. Reacting to the Judiciary's ruling, Ahmadinejad disclosed the charges against Baqaei in detail, which shed light on the operational mode of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC QF). Nowruz Is Driving Fuel Demand Sky High | Bloomberg Iran's driving season is in full swing as the Persian new year begins and motorists leave home for the mountains and seaside. SYRIA & IRAN The Syrian Great Game | Reuel Marc Gerecht for the Hoover Institution By definition "great games" are complicated with lots of moving parts.  Battles on the ground, intense, myriad, and sometimes fratricidal, always connect, however indirectly, to the larger collision of great powers.  In Syria, the tug-of-war is a lopsided affair, where Iran, Russia, and the Alawite regime of Bashar al-Assad are invested in winning.   GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN Trump Meets With Saudi Crown Prince 'MBS' to Push Arms Deals and Challenge to Iran |  Los Angeles Times President Trump on Tuesday promised the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, to help push through long-stalled arms deals for the desert kingdom, saying the transactions would bring billions of dollars in investment and new jobs to the United States... The two governments share intense disdain of Iran... Aides said that Trump and the prince discussed the landmark 2015 multinational deal that has curbed Iran's nuclear-power production.  IRAQ & IRAN Iran Risks Losing Clout in Iraq by Arresting Shiite Cleric Shirazi | Al Monitor The repercussions of Iran's controversial arrest of the Shiite cleric Hussein Shirazi could include a weakening of Iranian influence over Shiites in Iraq. Iran's Iraqi Militia Allies Eye Next Elections to Consolidate Gains, Expel US | Ahmad Majidyar for the Middle East Institute The head of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), an Iranian-supported Iraqi militia group, has said that the country's paramilitary forces known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) will remain a military organization and participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections at the same time. Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email press@uani.com. United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.